Jean Patou : Joy eau de parfum (UK version)

Created by : Henri Giboulet

Date : 1955

Genre : Aldehydic animalic

Concentration : Eau de parfum

What used to be called Eau de Joy has since been renamed Joy eau de parfum and as far as I’m concerned, it’s false advertising. It should be called Joy eau de civet. I mean I knew that the eau de parfum would be less floral and more aldehydic than the eau de toilette but all this synthetic civet is way too much. So, it doesn’t surprise me that the people in charge of the Jean Patou line, Designer Parfums, have hired Thomas Fontaine to oversee “the fragrance development for its heritage brands… Worth, Jean Louis Scherrer and Jean Patou.” And from the same press release, “Today Fontaine is recognised as a leading specialist in recasting vintage formulas for modern times.” The man for the job! (Thanks to FiveOaks from Perfume of Life for this link.)

Joy eau de parfum needs a “parfum initial” treatment à la Shalimar from Guerlain. Joy edp is too heavy, too dense and too animalic. It needs some lightening up with bergamot or powder or something. Hopefully Thomas Fontaine will be able to bring it in step with modernity otherwise I can’t imagine it will be around very much longer. I’ll admit though that in the first 15 minutes, I smelled the most beautiful rose note and I kept hoping that it would keep going in that direction… but no. It went to civet and stayed there.

I understand that Joy eau de toilette is still beautiful. The first time I sniffed the edt was a few years back and I remember the sheer beauty of it just knocked me over. The rose and jasmine notes were so very clear… the most beautiful duet I think I’ve ever experienced. But this eau de parfum needs a makeover.

I don’t mean to be catty (ouch) but this next duet pretty wells sums it up.

Today, I went to Montréal’s Expozine -Small Press, Comic and Zine Fair! It was crowded and smelly but kudos to the participants who showered this morning with patchouli soap and oil! Honestly, it was the best smell blast I’ve had in a long time.

5 Comments

So you think the Joy edp is full of crap literally? I’ve never tried either concentration, but I am curious to experience them for myself. It’s funny how when they reformulate great fragrances from the past i.e. Jicky, Bal à Versailles, they always end up screwing them up big time. Guerlain’s Jicky is a disaster after reformulation. Bal à Versailles is not the same. The vintage version of both perfumes are glorious and the current versions are not up to par.